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Majority for Cong-CPI in Manipur

sweet taste of victory

Former Manipur Chief Minister and NCP state president Radha Binod Koijam is congratdulated by his wife Bano Koijam while former Lok Sabha Speaker and senior NCP leader P.A. Sangma cheers them up after having been declared elected from Thangmaibang in West Imphal district of Manipur on Tuesday. — PTI

Imphal, February 27
Manipur offered a consolation prize to the Congress as the party in alliance with the CPI gained absolute majority in the ninth assembly elections.

Halting the anti-incumbency wave in Punjab and Uttarakhand, the Congress on its own won 30 seats in a house of 60 while the Communist Party of India bagged four.

Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh's charisma proved magic for the party as it snuffed out the Opposition challenge convincingly. The Chief Minister not only created a record of sorts by surviving the entire five-year term in a state which had earned the reputation of a ''state of defection'', but his political acumen enabled the party to race towards majority.

Chief Minister Okram Ibobi was elected from Khagabok and Thoubal constituencies by landslide victory. The Congress bagged 30 while its ally the CPI got four in the 60-member House. The Manipur People's Party(MPP) and the NCP settled with five seats each, the RJD emerged victorious in three, the National People's Party(NPP) in two and Independents ten.

President of the Manipur People's Party L Chandramani, president of RJD and former chief minister W Nipamcha and Speaker Maniruddin Sheikh of Congress were major losers. Former union minister Th Chaoba of the MPP also lost at Nambol.

The RJD carved a niche for itself in this state bagging three seats. Its candidate Hellaluddin Khan was a giant slayer humbling Speaker Maniruddin Sheikh of the Congress by a margin of 280 votes. But the party received a setback when former chief minister and state party president W Nipamacha Singh was defeated by S Joy of the NCP by 2000 votes in Wangoi.

Another giant to lick dust was former chief minister and Manipur People's Party (MPP) MLA R K Dorendro who was defeated by E Kunjeswar of the Congress in Yaiskul by 4000 votes.

Among the heavyweights who booked a seat in the ninth Assembly, were former chief minister and NCP president Radhabinod Koijam, who defeated his nearest Congress rival Jyotin Waikhom by a margin of about 1000 votes from Thangmeiband constituency. — UNI

36 sitting MLAs lose

Thirty-six sitting members of the House lost in the elections to the ninth Assembly in Manipur, results of which were declared today.

Only 24 MLAs were able to retain their seats in the 60-member House.

Prominent, among those lost, include former chief minister R K Dorendro (MPP), Health Minister D K Korunthang, C Doungel(Cong), and Ngamthang Haokip (Cong). Among heavyweights of state politics who were defeated in the hustings are former Union Minister Th Chaoba (MPP) and MPP President Dr L Chandramani. — PTI